Beofre it Breaks
by The-Canadian-SuperStar-27
Summary: Mallory was a smalltown girl with a horrific past. Child abuse, drugs, sex, alcohol, death. You name it. When her unlce takes her from her home and raises her, she sees a way out. Years down the road she joins the U.S. Marshals in Lexington, Kentucky. A bet between her co-workers brings her into the arms of a man who is just liker her. A past that they are haunted by.


**I came up with this story when I was stuck on the Victoia Clipper for 3 1/2 hours. I love Justified and Tim Gutterson. At the same time was listening to this artist Brandi Carlile, and her songs just fit the whole thing. Hope you like it :) Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Around here, it's the hardest time of year**_  
_**Waking up, the days are even gone**_  
_**The collar of my coat**_  
_**Lord help me, cannot help the cold**_  
_**The raindrops sting my eyes**_  
_**I keep them closed.**_

_**But I'm feelin' no pain**_  
_**I'm a little lonely and my quietest friend**_  
_**Have I the moonlight? Have I let you in?**_  
_**Say it ain't so, say I'm happy again**_

_**Say it's over, say I'm dreaming,**_  
_**Say I'm better than you left me**_  
_**Say you're sorry, I can take it**_  
_**Say you'll wait, say you won't**_  
_**Say you love me, say you don't**_  
_**I can make my own mistakes**_  
_**Let it bend before it breaks**_

_**I'm all right. Don't I seem to be?**_  
_**Aren't I swinging on the stars?**_  
_**Don't I wear them on my sleeve?**_  
_**When you're looking for a crossroads,**_  
_**It happens every day**_  
_**And whichever way you turn,**_  
_**I'm gonna turn the other way**_

_**Say it's over, say I'm dreaming,**_  
_**Say I'm better than you left me**_  
_**Say you're sorry, I can take it**_  
_**Say you'll wait, say you won't**_  
_**Say you love me, say you don't**_  
_**I can make my own mistakes**_  
_**Learn to let it bend before it breaks**_

_**Say it's over say I'm dreaming,**_  
_**Say I'm better than you left me**_  
_**Say you're sorry, I can take it**_  
_**Say you'll wait, say you won't**_  
_**Say you love me, say you don't**_  
_**I can make my own mistakes**_  
_**Let it bend before it breaks**_

* * *

The sound of high heel shoes hitting the linoleum floor made Tim look up from his paper work. The sound of the heels belonged to a pair of red four inch heels. Tim's gaze followed up the woman's pale slender legs, a black pencil skirt covered the skin just above her knees and higher. Continuing up her body a navy blue blouse with little red keys shattered around the fabric covered her chest. She had long milk chocolate brown hair that was set in prefect waves. The woman's hair was half way down her back, a length that must have taken year to grow to. When Tim's eyes got to her face he saw she had a round little button nose, with handful of freckles that cover it and her cheeks. He could see that she had little to no make-up on. There was a thin little line of black eye liner, but that was it, as far as he could tell. For a brief moment he saw her eyes. Her eyes were a cloudy gray colour. Her eyes looked like the eyes of a horrible storm; he could tell that her eyes had something, something that not many people knew about her. Her stormy eyes reminded of the eyes he looked at himself with in the mirror.

The woman shot Tim a polite little smile as she walked by him. Tim returned the smile then watched her walk away and into Art's office.

Tim turned in his office chair and rolled towards Raylan, who was nose deep in his own paper work.

"Have you seen her before?"

Raylan looked around the office then at Tim with a questionable look written on his face.

"Who?"

Tim pointed towards the Chief Marshal's office. Raylan sat up a bit to look past the filing cabinets, seeing Art and the woman standing in his office talking. When he got a good look at the woman he sat back down in his chair and looked at Tim again.

"No. But she is fine to look at."

He said with his Southern boy smirk on his face.

Both Raylan and Tim knew the effects of Raylan's sweet Southern charm. If Raylan even looked at a woman in the right way her clothes would be in a pool around her feet and he knees would grow week in a matter of seconds.

Tim didn't have the luxury of the Southern boy charm. He was born and raised in back water Nebraska with hid drunken abusive father and his push over, dying mother. When he got into the Rangers it made him even rougher around the edges. Being good as he is at what he does made him that way. Sure he was good looking, but drunken women only used him as a good one night stand.

Tim took one last look at the brown haired woman in the Chief's office, and then returned to his paper work.

* * *

"Why is there another desk here?"

Rachel asked when she arrived at her desk. Both Tim and Raylan looked up their fellow marshal, not knowing or realizing that there was another desk. When the boys looked at her she pointed past Raylan's desk. They boy's gaze fallowed and indeed there was a new, cleared of paper work, clean desk on the other side of Raylan's.

"We can't be getting a new marshal, can we?"

Rachel asked. No one said anything. Raylan hasn't even been in Lexington for two months. And now the office was getting a new marshal. Rachel was about to say something when Art's office door opened and him and the woman exited and walked over to the bull pin. Raylan and Tim looked up at the pair of them standing in front of them and the boys say that the woman had a U.S. Marshal's star badge hanging around her neck.

"Everyone this is Deputy U.S. Marshal Mallory McCluskey. She is the newest addition to the office. Mallory this is Deputy Rachel Brooks, Deputy Tim Gutterson, and the star of the show Deputy Raylan Givins. Did I mention she's my niece?"

The male Deputies were dumbfounded. How this beautiful woman could be related to Art Mullen.

"I know what you're think, 'how in the hell is this fine piece of ass related to me?' right? Well, she's my sister's kid. Beth did get the good looks of the family. I want you to make her feel at home. Tim you're taking her under your wing. Have fun sweetheart."

Art said then walked back into his office. The rest of the marshals were just looking at Mallory, waiting to see you'd make the first move. Rachel looked over at her and put out her hand.

"Rachel Brooks. I didn't know that Art had a niece."

Mallory shook Rachel hand and smiled.

"Most people don't, nice to meet you."

Raylan and Tim both stood up and walked the short distance towards her.

"Tim Gutterson."

"Raylan Givins."

"Raylan Givins. Oh, my God. I know who you are."

"Yeah, I'm the marshal who shot Tommy Bucks."

"No. I grew up in Harlan. I went to Harlan High School and my friend Tyler was on the baseball team. He was obsessed with you. He was always trying to beat all your records."

"I didn't know that I still had standing records."

"Have. No one to this day has beaten them."

Raylan smiled at her and Mallory's eyes drifted over towards Tim. For some reason she was drawn towards him. Was it his looks? Was it the way he held himself? Then she was it. I was his eyes. His eyes were a cloudy dark blue. For her it was a tell tell sign that he had a past.

* * *

**Four weeks later**

The band and the people behind Mallory felt like they were miles away. She felt like that herself and her beer were the only things in the whole bar. Her hands slowly spun the beer bottle around on the cheery wood bar. She had been sitting on this stool for what seemed like hours. She got there right after she was let off from work and thirty beers later here she sat.

"What are you doing here Mallory?"

She looked to her right to see Tim sitting down on the stool next to her ordering a glass of whiskey.

"Drinking."

"Well no shit."

The bartender poured a glass for Tim then turned to Mallory and pointed to the beer in front of her. Silently asking if she wanted another one.

"She's having what I'm having."

The barman grabbed another glass from under the bar and poured Mallory a glass then left the bottle between Tim and Mallory. Tim grabbed his glass and took a long drink.

"You know you're really attractive?"

Mallory said picking up her glass, not looking at him. Tim let out a little laugh and looked over at her and smiled.

"How long have you been here?"

"Since I left work."

Tim took another drink, finishing the glass and looked over at her again.

"To tell you the truth, me and Raylan have a bet. The first one to bang you gets hundred bucks."

Mallory laughed and looked over at him. Slowly she moved her hand on his upper thigh and looked up at him from under her eyelashes.

"You lookin' to win that bet?"

She asked then bit her lip and slowly rubbing her hand on Tim's leg. Tim looked at her and grabbed the whole bottle of Jim Beam and took a long hard drink of it. When he slammed the bottle on the bar he grabbed Mallory's hand and pulled her into him.

"You have no idea how bad I want I to."

Mallory looked up at him then stood on her tip toes and crashed her lips to his.


End file.
